To Your Health: Finding What Fuels You

The Situation…
Andrea was stuck. To observers, she didn’t look stuck. She looked active and engaged. But she knew the truth and the truth was that she was most assuredly, irretrievably (at least it felt that way) stuck.

As she told it, having found herself in the ‘space’ between jobs, she threw herself into worthy activities –you know, the ones for which there never seems to be time. Volunteer opportunities abounded and Andrea was frequently invited to participate. Flattered, she said yes often and contributed her knowledge and talents (things she knew well and could have done in her sleep) to a variety of worthy causes.

Andrea brought energy and order to most endeavors. People seemed to relax when Andrea was in charge. It wasn’t long before job opportunities came to her. Offers followed. Faced with excellent professional opportunities, Andrea found herself profoundly….unexcited. She was pretty sure she should be feeling exhilarated.

What went wrong?
Andrea had gotten caught up in the excitement of performing well and being desired. She’d left her previous position to put it plainly, bored, and was about to sign on to a new position which offered more of the same—things she knew how to do and was no longer challenged by. She was more out of touch with the purpose and passion of her life than ever.

Now, sitting across from me, Andrea said, “I think I need to ‘rock-sit’ now. Just sit and think, NOT engage. I get myself in trouble when I engage.”

Obey your DNA!
Andrea is one of those folks who gets her energy from being “out there”, in conversation with others. If she withdraws completely, in an attempt to figure things out (rock sitting as she calls it) she risks being without the fuel that produces her unique creative energy.

Andrea can rock-sit. Just not the way she’s describing it. Because idea creation happens during and as a result of conversations she has with others, it’s best for her to be consistently ‘out there’ getting refueled. However, she needs to be armed with a tool that will allow her to operate from her strengths and which prepares her to make the best choices for her life.

The Tool
We crafted an approach for Andrea to pay a different kind of attention to her experiences for 30 days. Our goal was to clarify what experiences she wants more of and which experiences she’s ready to move on from. Here’s the Love/Hate Matrix:

Take the challenge:
It’s easy—try it for the closing month of the old year so that you can begin 2007 with new clarity and focus for your life. Here’s how:

1. Print out the matrix. Keep copies of it where it’s easily visible/accessible (at computer, dashboard, wallet, bathroom mirror are my favorites.)

2. Review it in the morning and at the end of the day for 5-10 minutes.

w	What did you do today that you love? (List things that created energy for you; challenged you to learn a new thing; make time fly, etc.)

w	Now, do you know how to do this thing well? (TOP LEFT quadrant.)

w	Do you love it but not know much about it? (LOWER LEFT quadrant.)

w	What did you do today that you don’t love? (List things that sucked energy from you? Frustrated you? Bored you? Made time drag?)

w	Now, do you know how to do this thing well? (TOP RIGHT quadrant)

w	Do you dislike it and not know much about it? (LOWER RIGHT quadrant)

3. Don’t worry about what it all means. Just pay attention to your emotional responses and plop them into the corresponding quadrant. During these 30 days, arm yourself with this rehearsed response to all new requests for your time: “That sounds interesting. I’ll need to get back to you on that after the New Year.”

Andrea did this and emerged with a better defined understanding of the types of experiences and challenges she’s actively seeking in both professional and personal roles. Write me---I’d like to hear your comments and questions.

Wishing you a personally fulfilling New Year!

Sherri

Sherri Cannon is a Southern California based consultant, facilitator and coach. Her work with groups and individuals helps elicit heightened clarity of purpose and create practical steps to achieve this purpose, personally and professionally. Sherri specializes in helping her clients gain the kind of clarity that results in “A-ha!” moments that lead to change.

sherri@sherricannon.com
The Cannon Group, Inc.
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
www.sherricannon.com
Work: 310-548-3623
Fax: 310-507-0280